Russian Caravan 25 Tea bag

Country of Origin: China, India
Region: Fujian Province, Assam, South India
Shipping Port: Fuzhou
Grade: OP (Orange Pekoe)
Altitude: 1500’ ft. – 6000’ ft. above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox
Cup Characteristics: Memories of camel trains across the desert. Full flavored with distinct notes of pine.
Infusion: Bright cup with hints of coppery orange.
Ingredients: Luxury black tea
Information:
Presenting a tea that owes as much to politics and diplomacy as it does
tea husbandry. The existence of Russian Caravan, a smoky blend of black
teas, (traditionally comprised only of Chinese teas, in ours a blend of
Chinese and Indian) is the direct result of a 1689 treaty between Qing
Dynasty China and Russia. The treaty brought an end to decades of
border conflict between Russian Cossacks and the Manchu people of
Northern China. As part of the treaty, Russia agreed to give up its
expansionist push eastward to the Sea of Japan, but gained direct
trading access to Beijing. The treaty forever changed the way business
was done between the two countries and produced a famous tea blend in
the process.
The trail from the Chinese border to Russia covered more than 6000 km,
(3728 miles) through harsh and unforgiving mountain passes, deserts and
rivers. Caravans comprised of horses, camels, mules and men took more
than a year and a half to complete the journey with may men and beasts
perishing along the way. Even so, the route was a popular and lucrative
one – in 1696 alone more than 50,000 rubles worth of furs made the
voyage, a fortune in today’s dollars. In addition to furs, one of the
most important commodities on the trail was Chinese tea, imported to
fulfill Russia’s growing demand. As can be imagined, the tea took quite
a beating on the grueling trip and often had an entirely different
character by the time it was unloaded in Moscow. One of the most
notable was the rich flavor of smoke, absorbed from a year and a half
of campfires along the caravan trail.
Russians grew to love the smoky tea and dubbed it caravan tea.
Eventually, with the advent of rail travel, the old trading routes died
out and with them, the naturally smoked tea. To compensate, tea
blenders began to create blends of Lapsang and other black teas to fill
the void.
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling
boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the
boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes
according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea).
Even though milk and a dash of sugar help enhance the character o this
tea, it is perfectly acceptable consume d ‘straight-up’
Traditional Iced tea-brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6
teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4
cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter
fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving
pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold
water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. [A rule of thumb when preparing
fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it
will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water]. Please note that
this tea may tend to go cloudy or ‘milky’ when poured over ice - a
perfectly normal characteristic of some high quality black teas and
nothing to worry about!